Shrine of Scars

"Deathbed For A Weakening Spirit"
(Mindfire Records)  

This trio hails from Sacramento, California's capital city, and grinds out some mean thrash/death metal. Their raw, aggressive, violent music, influenced heavily by the old school thrash metal of nearby San Francisco, scorches like a musical flame thrower, thrashing out fast and furious, like there's no tomorrow! Granted, they're not really breaking any new ground here, but they do kick ass, and they play quite well, too. Guitarists Dave Leyva (who also sings and plays drums) and Jon Wells can really burn up their fret boards! Dave's singing is your typical death metal style,  a vicious, raspy scream. These guys sure don't pull any punches, and they seem to be giving it their all, so they deserve props for that. They still have a few rough edges they need to iron out, but this is their first demo, so you gotta cut them a little slack. Plenty of whoop ass to go around, even though the disc is less that half an hour long and a couple of the songs are very short. However, like I said, it's their first demo, so all things considered, they've done a pretty good job here. The aggression and fire of their music makes up for whatever else they may lack. More info at www.shrineofscars.com

More from the Online Metal Journal